Ottawa Women’s March draws thousands

Thousands of people gathered at the Human Right Memorial on Elgin Street Saturday to march in solidarity with similar demonstrations taking place in Washington and around the world.

The women’s marches are a response to the Friday inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose derogatory comments have been widely documented and shared across social media.

NDP MP Niki Ashton opened the Ottawa march by calling on people not to let the “Donald Trumps of the world” threaten the rights of marginalized populations.

“We are marching because in the last year there has been an unprecedented attack on women, on radicalized communities, on immigrants, on Muslims, on members of the LGBT community, on indigenous peoples, on people living with disabilities,” Ashton told the crowd. “Today we are marching to say no to a system that holds all of us back.”

The demonstration moved west along Laurier and ended with a rally at the Bronson Centre.